The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1887-04-27
MY BALLOON TRIP.
ARIDE OVER THE PYRENEEs WITH
A CONVICT.

a NOAF W.
AOU, and you alone, Ned, can save me.
HI It's my bread, the balloon is, and not
~ mine only, but that of little Polly at
az school, far away in England there.
And they'll make no more of ripping the
Defiance to ribbons than l would of
chipping the shell of an egg at breakfast,
those peppery Marseillais
The situation was, to say the least of
1t, exceedingly awkward. 1t was the
evening of fete day, in brilliant, sultry
autumn weather, such as may be looked
for in the south of France; and festi-
val at st. Mature, a village lying on the
coast some two leagues eastward of Mar
settles, had drawn thither swarm of
the population of the city. There was
dancing in progress-the merry twang of
the fiddies floating upward through the
vine tendrils that hung across the open
window, reached my ears as / stood be-
side the bed-but the great attraction of
the evenings entertainment was to be a
balloon ascent, in the midst of fireworks,
on the part of an English aeronaut who,
in the glowing language of the handbills
and posters that had for ten days past
advertised the trip, was described as ''the
famous, the intrepid Oliver Killick, s
Roi des airs"
,As for myself, I was simply young
English artist, Edward Holmes by name,
not long since returned from a pro-
tracted course of art-study in Rome /
had been accidentally thrown good
deal into the company of Mr.. Killick,
who had for some time bcer .l-si-s.i tvs.
and VINO had shown I me ' some kindn es,
as a ellow-countryman; while /, on my
part, had regard for the old man, whose
quaint anecdotes of his experiences as a
travelling balloonist were often amusing,
and half of whose earnings, as knew,
were sent home for the benefit of his
little grandchild.
And now a serious difficulty had, at
the last moment, arisen. There, in the
garden of the village inn, fenced off by
ropes and stakes from the pressure of
the crowd that surged around, was the
Defiance, fully inflated, straining at the
cords that fastened it to earth, and ready
for use, while on his bed lay the unlucky
ming VI tiio NIL SiOuuiiiS anu uibhDiCus
He had sent for me to visit him in his
room shortly after the occurrence of the
accident-it was a mere stumble over q
loose plank, and fall downstairs-and
though / sympathized with him most
sincerely, had been quite at loss for
an expedient. Mr.. Killick was heavy
elderly man, and in the fall had sprained
his right wrist and injured his thumb,
besides receiving cut on the left temple.
That's nothing" he said, half queru-
lously, as l examined the hurt; "Pve had
worse in touching ground, many's the
day. It's the thumb that does signify,
the thumb and the wrist / can't handle
the valve-ropes with this crippled arm
any more than schoolgirl could do it.
And what's to happen nowp"
My first idea was that the accident,
and the consequent inability of the bal
loonist to give the promised exhibition,
should be notified, and an apology made
to the public; but the veteran decidedly
negatived this apparently obvious pro-
feeding. He reminded me of the irascible
character of a mob everywhere, and
above all of Southern French mob, and
assured me of what l could readily be-
lieve, that no excuse would be accepted by
the fiery Marseillais, baked of the long
looked-for treat of an ascent. They would
certainly destroy the balloon, and not
improbably execute lynch-law in some
form on the aeronaut, while the very
loss of the Defiance would be a serious
disaster todts owner. Then, too, a rich
landed proprietor of the neighborhood-
a vain young man, with a taste for
notoriety-had offered fifteen louis-d'or
to be taken up as a passenger; and to
ftioonnntnt nj UsafAr do
lose $50, was also an unwelcome con-
tingency.
To my very great surprise, Mr.. Killick
proposed that l should go up in his
stead, and undertake for the occasion
the Office of aeronaut. | had indeed
accompanied him, while we were both at
Nice, in two short ascents, and learned
from him to manage the valves and bal
last, the rudiments of the art of balloon
ing. / was young, active, and steady
head, and the owner of the Defiance was
quite willing to entrust her to me, if |
would but so far oblige him. / have
never been quite able satisfactorily to ex-
plain to myself how 1t was that / was
startled or cajoled into asserting. Per-
haps the novelty of the notion, acting
on somewhat adventurous fancy, made
me yield more readily to the old mans
entreaty than would otherwise have been
the case, said Eyes" and was held to
my word.
Hist walls have ears, and certainly
arbors have" whispered the landlord OF
the inn, as he led me cautiously round by
the back door into the partially illumi.
mated space without. Wrap your over.
coat well about you, and hide your face
with this red handkerchief. We mustn't |
let the people see as yet it's raw hand
that's TO go aloft. Once up, we can laugh
Ii or" This was all very we'll for the inn
keeper, whose only wish was to keep the
rabble in good humor, and avoid riot,
which might lead to the pillage of his
cellar and the demolition of his furni-
ture, but began inwardly to question
the wisdom of my own choice How
ever, it was too late to withdraw.
There was the Defiance, majestically
poised above the ground, like vessel
riding at anchor. There was nothing for
II but to carry out, as best might, the
madcap enterprise on which had en-
barked.
Come, you had better get into the car
and be ready" said the landlord, still in |
an undertone, as he passed me through |
the Gordon of police that kept back the |
foremost OF the spectators, Don't talk,